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ball-head question..... (1 Viewer)

V

Vogelaar.nl

Member
ls,

I am currently using a manfrotto 55cb with 141rc-head for my precious swaro
ats80hd telescope, this is my prime setup for birdwatching...
And for that type of use good enough.
But this manfrotto-combo is in my opinion very bad when i use it with my photographic equipment. It is simply not sturdy enough for long lens usage.
so i am thinking of buying a gitzo with arca-swiss/markins/kirk ballhead solution.
I wonder if there are many birders using a ballhead to support their telescope?
i personally think that it is not very handy to steer a big telescope when placed on a ballhead.
And carrying two tripods around for either watching or photograpy is not an option for me...
is there perhaps someone who has some advice on this for me?
greets,

martijn
 
I use a Markins ballhead with my Swarovski 80 scope. I love it. It's small, compact and light weight. Also smooth and it locks up right where you want it to. If I was into photography with big lenses I would have one for sure. The Markins can handle lots of weight- more than most scopes. The only thing that may annoy birders with spotting scopes is that it creeps off the vertical axis a bit. Big deal, as long as you can find the bird and track it, who cares? I'll take my ballhead over any other head any day!
 
Martijn save yourself a bit of grief, spend a little more and go for a gimble head. I myself have spent hundreds on different heads inc Manfrotto 501, 701rc2 etc. Eventually I splashed out on a Black widow gimble and have not looked back. Steady as a rock no creep you don't have to lock it no matter what angle you have it at.

At present I am using it with Leica 77 & Contax sl300 for digiscoping. Canon 20d + 400 F5.6 slr. These heads will take upto 500mm F4 lenses with no probs and I daresay it would take a 600mm F4.

Yes I know it's more expensive but it's a buy once and know there is nothing better out there.

Pete
 
firstly, thanks for the responses,

@ Kevin,

Don't you miss the steering handle for aiming your scope?
I would especially miss it when seawatching... but maybe you have a hint how you are handling your scope on a ballhead, maybe i only need to learn to handle my scope on -another than video head design- head..

@ pete, i also considered a gimbal, but then there is still the problem that i need to change heads when i want to shoot landscapes, macro, etc, etc..
i think that i am going to buy a markins or kirk ballhead together with the sidekick, thus having a great ballhead solution for macro and landscape work and a gimbal-type head for the long tele-work and telescope work...

I am currently using D70+ nikkor 80-400VR (and a whole lot of other glass)
and mostly for observation my swaro ats80hd and sometimes for the very long work a coolpix 4500 for digiscoping.

maybe there are more readers here using this kind of tripod-head gear combination and perhaps want to share their experiences?
That would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks,

Martijn
 
If I want to use only one head for both digiscoping and my photographic equipment, I prefer a video head than a ballhead. I'm very happy with the Gitzo 2380 head.
 
Vogelaar.nl said:
firstly, thanks for the responses,

@ Kevin,

Don't you miss the steering handle for aiming your scope?
I would especially miss it when seawatching... but maybe you have a hint how you are handling your scope on a ballhead, maybe i only need to learn to handle my scope on -another than video head design- head..

@ pete, i also considered a gimbal, but then there is still the problem that i need to change heads when i want to shoot landscapes, macro, etc, etc..
i think that i am going to buy a markins or kirk ballhead together with the sidekick, thus having a great ballhead solution for macro and landscape work and a gimbal-type head for the long tele-work and telescope work...

I am currently using D70+ nikkor 80-400VR (and a whole lot of other glass)
and mostly for observation my swaro ats80hd and sometimes for the very long work a coolpix 4500 for digiscoping.

maybe there are more readers here using this kind of tripod-head gear combination and perhaps want to share their experiences?
That would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks,

Martijn
Click to expand...
I've never had a steering handle on a head I've owned. I just steer the scope. No problems. The gimbals sound intriguing, but I think they add alot of weight and bulk which I want to avoid. My tripod weighs enough, I want to save some weight without spending lots of money on a new one.
 
The Black Widow Gimble that I use weighs 2.65lbs. Changing from scope to camera takes about 30 secs with Q/R plates.

To be honest the carbon fibre tripod and head is so well balanced I don't really feel the weight.

Pete
 
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